Dry recycling service

How often will I receive a collection and on what day will this be?

Dry recycling is the material that goes in your new blue-lid bin (or blue box and blue bags in inaccessible areas) and is collected fortnightly. Your bin (or boxes and bags) should be put out at the edge of your property by 7am on the day of collection. Your specific collection days can be found at our 'When is my collection' web page or on the calendar provided when we deliver your recycling containers (from the start of October 2012).

What container will be issued?

Dry recycling is collected in a 240 litre grey bin with a blue lid. For properties that cannot accommodate a wheeled bin due to their design or if our collection vehicle can’t get to you, a 55 litre blue box will be issued for glass and cans, foil trays, aerosols and beverage cartons, and two 45 litre blue reusable bags for paper/cardboard and plastic.

Do I have a choice of a blue bin or blue bags/box?

No. Dry recycling is collected in wheeled bins from the majority of households. Only where a property cannot accommodate a wheeled bin will boxes and bags be issued.

How many boxes/bags will I receive? (only residents who do not have wheeled bins)

If currently you don’t have recycling containers you will initially receive one blue box and two blue reusable bags. If you currently have a blue box and a blue bag an additional blue bag will be provided for plastic.

Additional blue bags can be requested by completing our online form. The additional bag(s) will be delivered within 10 working days of the request being received.

I currently use black sacks but would like a recycling bin.

Great! Once you let us know, we’ll assess your property to ensure the bin can be suitably stored and collected by our refuse vehicle with a bin lift. You can request a recycling bin by emailing us at waste@derbyshiredales.gov.uk. We’ll also assess your property to see if you can accommodate a grey bin and green bin too.

Do I have to pay for my recycling containers?

No. All recycling containers are provided free of charge.

What should I do if my recycling container is damaged or goes missing?

We will provide a replacement container free of charge. You can report a problem with your recycling container by completing our online form. A new container will be delivered within 10 working days of the request being received.

What should I put in my recycling container?

If you have a grey bin with a blue lid, the following can be put inside:

Body of bin – glass jars and bottles, food and drinks cans, foil trays, aerosols, beverage cartons (or Tetra Paks), plastic bottles and plastics containers including margarine tubs and yogurt pots.

Basket insert – newspapers, junk mail, magazines, catalogues, telephone directories, white and brown envelopes, paper including brown paper, cardboard and all types of cardboard including food packaging, egg boxes and toilet roll tubes. Additional paper and cardboard can be put in the blue reusable bag and placed next to your bin for collection. Please flatten the cardboard as best you can and remove any bubble wrap or polystyrene and any plastic film from magazines or catalogues. Any large cardboard that will not fit in the bin or bag can be flattened and placed next to the bin for collection.

If you do not use a wheeled bin but have blue box and blue reusable bags your recycling material should be separated as follows:

Blue box – glass bottles and jars, food and drinks cans, foil trays, beverage cartons and aerosols

1st Blue bag – paper and cardboard

2nd Blue bag – plastic bottles, trays, margarine tubs and yogurt pots

NB: It is important that one bag is used for the paper and cardboard and that these materials are kept separate from the plastics; otherwise we can’t recycle the material.

Please do not include sheets of glass, mirrors, milk bottles, glasses, crockery, window glass, ovenware, saucepans, light bulbs or tubes, plastic bags, film or toys. Please wash jars, bottles and trays.

Can I put large sweet/biscuit tins in my blue bin or blue box?

Yes, it is acceptable to put these containers in your blue-lid bin or blue box.

Which types of plastic can I put in the bin and which symbols do they need on them?

We allow plastic containers with a recycling triangle with either the numbers 1, 2 , 3, 5 or 6 inside or the abbreviations PET, PETE, HDPE, PVC, LDPE, PP, PS. This includes bottles from drinks, detergents and milk as well as margarine and ice-cream tubs and most yogurt pots (generally 'hard' plastic packaging). Do not include plastic bags, mixed plastic and foam packaging or cling film wrap ('flimsy' plastic packaging). Please make sure you rinse the containers, remove lids and squash them if possible to save space.

What do I do with black plastic trays?

Black plastic trays can be recycled in your blue-lid bin or blue reusable bas. You can recycle these at home but not at the local recycling centres (bring sites).

How do I dispose of polystyrene?

Polystyrene should be disposed of in the household waste bin or taken to your nearest household waste recycling centre.

Can I put shredded paper in my blue bin or blue bag?

Yes, but please weight it down with newspapers so that it doesn’t blow around when your container is emptied.

Can I put confidential waste in my blue bin?

To protect against identity theft it is not advisable to put any confidential waste into your paper bin without shredding it first. The refuse collection system should not be regarded as a secure method of disposing of waste.

Can I share a recycling bin with my neighbour?

Yes. If both parties agree and one of the households can accommodate a bin you can share it with your neighbour.

My recycling bin is not large enough / I have insufficient boxes and bags for a fortnight.

If your recycling bin is not sufficient for a fortnight we will review your needs and either provide an additional recycling bin or additional boxes and bags. We’ll take additional material if placed at the side of your recycling bin providing it is easily identified as recycling material and is suitably contained. Use transparent containers (such as stacker boxes) rather than black bags so that the content can be easily identified.

To request an additional blue box/blue-lid bin please email us at waste@derbyshiredales.gov.uk. Additional blue bags can be requested by completing our online form.

What happens to recycling?

The material you separate is collected on behalf of the District Council by Serco Limited and taken to their depot at Longcliffe here in the Derbyshire Dales. It is stored in bays and bulked into container wagons to be transported to the re-processor:

The paper and cardboard is taken to UPM Shotton, Deeside.
The mixed glass, cans and plastics is taken to Viridor, Crayford, Kent.

The materials are sorted into separate waste streams of particular grades and marketed individually either in the United Kingdom or European Union. The materials are used to produce newspaper print, fluting, carton board, bottles, piping, tins, fibre glass, various construction materials and aggregates.